Cardiff School of Management

Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Events Management

Assessment
Brief
Module Code Module Title

HLT7036 Research Methods

Academic Year Semester

22-23 One

Module Leader email

nmatthews@cardiffmet.ac.uk

Content
Assessment Details.................................................... 2
Submission Details .................................................... 3
Assessment Criteria ................................................... 3
Further Information .................................................... 5
Who can answer questions about my assessment? ........... 5
Referencing .............................................................................. 5
Submission problems ............................................................. 5
Unfair academic practice ........................................................ 5
How is my work graded? ........................................................ 6
Assessment Details
Assessment title Abr. Weighting

Portfolio - A three-part portfolio on research skills PORT1 30%

50% for postgraduate work unless stated otherwise.

Task/assessment brief:

You are required to complete a portfolio of tasks that will demonstrate your early grasp of research
skills expected for postgraduate study; your ability to undertake data searches and your ability to
critique contemporary research literature. You are required to complete the following three tasks (see
marking scheme for weightings):

The Peer-Review Process

You are required to select one of the papers listed on Moodle under the ‘Assessment and Feedback’
tile and address three tasks.

a) Undertake a brief critique of the study (450 words)

b) Provide a brief outline of how one of the methods covered in this module could be used to address
the topic in an alternative way (450 words)

c) Set out how the findings of the study could be used by a practitioner to inform their practice (300
words)

Word count (or equivalent): 1200 words

This a reflection of the effort required for the assessment. Word counts will normally include any text,
tables, calculations, figures, subtitles and citations. Reference lists and contents of appendices are
excluded from the word count. Contents of appendices are not usually considered when determining
your final assessment grade.

Academic or technical terms explained:

This assessment will support you as you develop your ability to critique research literature. To critique
does not equate to criticise! We will help you to appreciate how critical evaluation differs from
description through the early seminars on the module. See the schedule in the handbook on page 6.

We have also added some resources that further explain critical evaluation to the HLT7036 Research
Methods Moodle site. Please take time to go through these, as they will support your learning.

Do also take the opportunity to participate in the seminar activities and ask questions.

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Submission Details
Submission This will normally be 20
Deadline: Estimated working days after initial
7th November 2022 Feedback submission
Return Date
5th December 2022

Submission 12-Noon
Time:

Moodle/Turnitin: Any assessments submitted after the deadline will not be marked and will be
recorded as a non-attempt unless you have had an extension request
agreed or have approved mitigating circumstances. See the School Moodle
pages for more information on extensions and mitigating circumstances.
Email submissions will not be accepted.

File Format: The assessment must be submitted as a pdf or Word document and submit
through the Turnitin submission point in Moodle.

Your assessment should be titled with your:

student ID number, module code and assessment ID

e.g. st12345678 HLT7036 PORT1

Feedback Feedback for the assessment will be provided electronically via Moodle. Feedback
will be provided with comments on your strengths and the areas which you can
improve. View the guidance on how to access your feedback.

All marks are provisional and are subject to quality assurance processes and
confirmation at the programme Examination Board.

Assessment Criteria
Learning outcomes assessed

• Demonstrate a critical awareness of a range of research designs and their appropriate

utilisation

Other skills/attributes developed

Assessments are not just a way of auditing your knowledge. They are a process which provides
additional learning and development through the preparation for and completion of the assessment.

Each module within Cardiff School of Management aims to give students the EDGE, which stands for
Ethical, Digital, Global and Entrepreneurial skills. The content and assessments on this module have
been designed with these skills in mind as follows:

Ethical – it will be vital that you consider ethical issues within the design of any research project and
also any ethical debates within your chosen subject. You are also encouraged to recognise that your
studies should support your development of professional ethics.

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Digital – this module should support your preparation for the substantive pieces of research that will
follow in your programme (i.e., HLT7032 Industry Project, as well as your own final project). These will
require you to have highly developed search skills. Maximising your use of e-databases, building up
your search competences and also presenting research findings effectively all takes digital literacy and
technical skills.

Global – our industries are global by nature. Your e-searches and project choices will inevitably draw
on international case studies and research literature.

Entrepreneurial – good industry projects and final projects all offer recommendations for professional
practice and identify areas of innovation that can support our industries becoming more enterprising.

Marking/Assessment Criteria

Task 1 (35 marks)

A brief critique of the chosen study

i.e., strengths, weaknesses, limitations, where it ‘sits’ within the body of literature in that field of study

Task 2 (35 marks)

Alternative approach to research design

i.e., consideration of how the topic might be researched through an alternative method covered in the
module

Task 3 (30 marks)

How the findings of the study could be used by a practitioner to inform their practice

i.e., what is the application of the research to our fields of practice in T.H.E management

See the feedback sheet in the handbook for how the feedback will be set out. The grade descriptors for
this assessment are set out on page 11 of the handbook. We will use these to help us provide you
with the written feedback you will receive in December.

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Further Information
Who can answer questions about my
assessment?
Questions about the assessment should be
directed to the staff member who has set the
task/assessment brief. This will usually be the
Module Leader. Nic Matthews will be happy
to answer any queries you have. We will also
be holding assessment briefings in Weeks 1,
3 and 6.
We cannot review drafts of your work prior to
submission but do take the opportunity to ask
questions in the sessions. We are happy to
answer questions that you might have as you
develop your work. This will not be limited to
the weeks specified above.
Referencing and independent learning
Please ensure you reference a range of
credible sources, with due attention to the
academic literature in the area. The time
spent on research and reading from good
quality sources will be reflected in the quality
of your submitted work.
Remember that what you get out of your
course depends on what you put in. Your
teaching sessions typically represent
between 10% and 30% of the time you are
expected to study for your degree. A 20-credit
module represents 200 hours of study time.
The rest of your time should be taken up by
self-directed study.
You must use the HARVARD referencing
system. Further guidance on referencing can
be found in the Study Smart area on Moodle
and at www.citethemrightonline.com (use
your university login details to access the
site). Correct referencing is an easy way to
improve your marks and essential in
achieving higher grades on most
assessments.
Technical submission problems
It is strongly advised that you submit your
work at least 24 hours before the deadline to
allow time to resolve any last minute
problems you might have. If you are having
issues with IT or Turnitin you should contact
the IT Helpdesk on (+44) 2920 417000. You
may require evidence of the Helpdesk call if
you are trying to demonstrate that a fault with
Moodle or Turnitin was the cause of a late
submission.
Extensions and mitigating circumstances
Short extensions on assessment deadlines
can be requested in specific circumstances. If
you are encountering particular hardship
which has been affecting your studies, then
you may be able to apply for mitigating
circumstances. This can give us more scope
to adapt the assessment requirements to
support your needs. Extensions and
mitigating circumstances policies and
procedures are regularly updated. You should
refer to your programme and School
information on extensions and mitigating
circumstances.
Unfair academic practice
Cardiff Met takes issues of unfair practice
extremely seriously. The University has
procedures and penalties for dealing with
unfair academic practice. These are
explained in full in the University's Unfair
Practice regulations and procedures under
Volume 1, Section 8 of the Academic
Handbook. The Module Leader reserves the
right to interview students regarding any
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aspect of their work submitted for
assessment.
Types of Unfair Practice, include:
Plagiarism, which can be defined as using
without acknowledgement another person’s
words or ideas and submitting them for
assessment as though it were one’s own
work, for instance by copying, translating
from one language to another or
unacknowledged paraphrasing. Further
examples include:
• Use of any quotation(s) from the
published or unpublished work of other
persons, whether published in textbooks,
articles, the Web, or in any other format,
where quotations have not been clearly
identified as such by being placed in
quotation marks and acknowledged.
• Use of another person’s words or ideas
that have been slightly changed or
paraphrased to make it look different from
the original.
• Summarising another person’s ideas,
judgments, diagrams, figures, or
computer programmes without reference
to that person in the text and the source
in a bibliography/reference list.
• Use of assessment writing services,
essay banks and/or any other similar
agencies (NB. Students are commonly
being blackmailed after using essay
mills).
• Use of unacknowledged material
downloaded from the Internet.
• Re-use of one’s own material except as
authorised by your degree programme.
Collusion, which can be defined as when
work that that has been undertaken with
others is submitted and passed off as solely
the work of one person. Modules will clearly
identify where joint preparation and joint
submission are permitted, in all other cases
they are not.
Fabrication of data, making false claims to
have carried out experiments, observations,
interviews or other forms of data collection
and analysis, or acting dishonestly in any
other way.
How is my work graded?
Assessment grading is subject to thorough
quality control processes. You can view a
summary of these processes on the
Assessment Explained Infographic.
Grading of work at each level of Cardiff Met
degree courses is benchmarked against a set
of general requirements set out in Volume 1,
Section 4.3 of our Academic Handbook. A
simplified version of these Grade Band
Descriptors (GBDs) with short videos
explaining some of the academic terminology
used can be accessed via the Facilitation of
Learning resource page.
We would strongly recommend looking at the
Study Smart area of Moodle to find out more
about assessments and key academic skills
which can have a significant impact on your
grades. Always check your work thoroughly
before submission.